Zelda's Resentment

Impa gets in my car and greets me with a smile, meanwhile I sit uncomfortably stiff in my seat, pupils piercing the narrow road ahead.

"Hey there," Impa falls into the passenger seat. "Long time no see. Woah, you okay? You look...uh..."

"Mad?"

"Scary," Impa giggles.

"Did you really not find your charger?" I challenge.

"Uh... Yes, why? You don't believe me?"

"Link..." I stop myself.

I want to tell her that Link lied to me but I don't want to hear her rant about him. I still have hopes that he had a reason to meet Malice and keep it a secret. Maybe I'm being naive, but I need Link to be more than a liar.

"Link what?" Impa asks after I drive off in silence.

"Did I say Link? Hey, I have a question," I try to distract her from my initial thought.

"I might have an answer," she says in a high spirit, looking out the window as I enter the main road.

"When do the mixed martial arts tournaments start?"

"Early next month, why?"

"Will Malice fight too?"

"Yes. Why are you asking?"

"Can I come watch?"

"I'd love it if you came," Impa's ember eyes are beaming like the setting sun.

Of course I want to support my best friend, but I also want to see Malice get beat up. I don't recognize this violent side of me. This is wrong, I will not lower myself to Malice's standards.

We get to the pier soon after. The lights, the people, and the music fill this place with life and joy. Unfortunately, none of it is truly touching me. Everything is bleak and sort of annoying right now. Maybe I should drive back to campus and find Link to straighten this out now, but I also don't want to run after him when he should have been the one to say something. I can't believe he'd just lie to me like that. I could tell he was getting more nervous after his little white lie slipped out.

"Wanna go to the arcade?" Impa asks, leading the way.

"You go ahead, I think I'll just take a quick walk around the pier."

"You seem off. Did something happen with you and Link?"

I lift the corner of my mouth in an attempt to smile.

"Possibly. But I don't want to talk about it," I tell her honestly and am glad to receive a nod in return.

"We can just walk around then," she says.

I nod once. I don't want to tell her no, even if I secretly want to walk by myself right now. I thought the pier would distract me from Link, but wherever I go, I just wonder; was this where Link fought Ganon? Did he talk to Malice here? Did he come here often or was it a total coincidence that we ran into each other? Maybe Impa was right and he does follow me? I chuckle at my own paranoia.

We pass a souvenir shop and my feet come to a sudden halt.

"What is it?" Impa asks, nearly bumping into me. My eyes roam the racks of t-shirts, fake license plates, and ugly magnets, but ultimately settle on the little stand with postcards.

"I am going to write him a postcard," I mutter to myself.

"A postcard? What for?"

"To apologize," I say and she frowns.

"For Link then?"

"Yes." I pay for the first best card I can find.

"Why do you need to apologize?"

"I said something hurtful to him today," I say and we sit down on a bench near the Ferris wheel. Imagining to live in a world without Link comes much easier than to imagine a world without Impa since I've only known him for a little while but it's still a painful thought. What if he and I were separated by an ocean? What would I tell him? Would I miss him?

I expect Link to explain himself first, but once we've settled this I want him to know that I'm not embarrassed to be seen with him. I would rather be by his side than to be thousands of miles apart, even if that means we'd be seen. I don't know what it is about him, but he's special. When I'm with him, I feel different.

The sun has set and the lights of the pier appear even brighter now. Impa stopped asking questions about me and Link once I had started to write something down, and I'm glad she stopped, for I am sure I wouldn't have had any answers in the first place. An hour has passed since then and we are getting ready to leave for dinner.

"We haven't been on the Ferris wheel in forever," Impa notes while I unlock my car.

"We can go next time we come here," I say and get in.

The drive into the city feels long, even with music playing over our shared silence.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask nervously. We're almost at Daruk's.

"Anything."

"Yesterday when I called you in your car..." I say and catch how Impa's smile turns into a frown. "Were you... Were you crying?"

"What?" She chortles and looks out the window. "I don't think so."

"You can tell me if something is bothering you. Are you nervous about the MMA tournament?"

"I guess," Impa shrugs and presses her cheek against the cold glass.

"You'll do great," is my attempt to cheer her up. "I have no doubt you'll win."

"Duh," she sounds more convinced than me.

I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant. A soft breeze ruffles my hair when I get out of my car. I can tell the temperature is dropping as fall is approaching. Impa and I walk across the lot and pass two men smoking by the entrance of Vah Rudania. Impa holds the door open for me but I realize that I left my wallet in my car so I tell her to find us some seats while I go back to the car.

It takes me less than two minutes to fetch my wallet and return to the entrance. The two men are gone but I'm not alone. By the door stands Link and for a second I think I'm imagining him but the heavy thump in my chest can't be lying. I stop a few feet away from him to keep my distance. He starts walking toward me.

"What are you doing here Link?" I take a look around, wondering if Mipha is here too like last week.

"I'm alone," he says as if I had said my thoughts out loud.

"Are you following me?" I ask, slightly irritated at his recurring, unannounced appearances.

"No," he says and falls back into silence.

His short answers are starting to get the best of me. Especially when they are obvious lies.

"Bullshit," I cross my arms. I don't usually swear, but I think it's justified. He was present when I told Impa we'd eat at Daruk's tonight, so he clearly followed us here.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

"Impa is waiting inside."

"It will only take a minute."

My heart wants to jump out of my chest and flee from the words he has prepared for me. He's ending it. Whatever this is we have, he's going to end it before it even started.

"Speak then," I press but his lips don't move. Perhaps he wasn't as prepared as I suspected.

"Should we go somewhere more private?" He says, rubbing the back of his head. This is about what I said to him earlier, that I don't want to be seen with him.

"You said it will only take a minute and right now we're alone."

"Right..." He shifts his weight to his right leg and locks his gaze to his hands.

"So?" I say and, to no surprise, am once again granted with silence. "Did you ask Malice to meet you?"

"I did," he admits, burying my appetite like a coffin in the dirt.

"Why?"

"Because of your dad."

What? What does he have to do with Malice and Link? I want to ask, but I am too perplexed to say a word.

"He bid me to protect you," Link says, meeting my eyes.

"Protect me? What, like a bodyguard?"

This makes no sense. Father was the one who said I can't have a boyfriend, he'd never tell a boy to look after me. Especially not Link. Or maybe Link would be his first choice after the way he praised him yesterday. Maybe this is true, but why would Father not tell me first?

"I acceded to his simple bid," Link tells me and continues. "I asked to meet Malice because she still had some photos of us on her phone. To protect you, to protect us, I asked her to delete them."

"So you went behind my back and flirted your way to her phone?"

"No," Link exclaims, his tone growing more confident and annoyed.

"You said you don't have a girlfriend, then asked her if she's single," my voice is shaky.

"What?" he shakes his head.

I know what I heard. Why is he playing dumb?

"You asked her if she's single after you said that you are," I say loud and clear. "I don't understand you at all. You're telling me that my father ordered you to protect me and that your first act was to meet Malice?" He nods. "Would you have told me?"

"Yes," he is quick to answer.

"Like you told me about the pier?"

His brows furrow as he swallows. Why won't he answer me?

"She said you were fighting over her..." I remember. Words tumble from my lips before I can stop them. "You told her I'm not your girlfriend... That was me you were talking about, right?"

When he fails to make a reply, I turn away from him and head for the entrance. I am trying so hard to give him the benefit of the doubt but if he won't speak then we have nothing to talk about.

It hurts that he was discussing our relationship with Malice, but what hurts even more is that he did it behind my back. He says he would have told me about Father's request, but there is so much he is still hiding from me and I don't know why. Have I in any way shown him that I can not be trusted? Did I not make it clear yesterday that I would give this a shot despite the risks? Am I not the sole person on this planet who doesn't tweet about it whenever Link lays eyes on me?

"I want to tell you everything," he surprises me by saying that.

"Great. But you shouldn't have come here tonight. I have to go," I say. Impa is indoors, waiting.

"I know... Maybe after?"

I want to make this work but I'm getting more and more vexed. This whole thing is confusing and difficult enough without his lies and secrets.

"Are we okay?" He asks when I am the one who doesn't reply for once.

"I don't know," I say honestly.

"Well, are... you okay?"

I can't help but think he's only asking because Father is forcing him to. He's only here, because of Father and it's fueling the anger in my burning throat. The man who never cared when I was crying myself to sleep when Mother died or held me in his arms when I had a fever and was taken care of by the nurse has suddenly transformed into this overprotective father figure. It's all an act. Father doesn't care about my feelings, he just wants to have control over me and spy on me. I can't believe Link would go along with this.

"I, the person in question, am fine, regardless of the president's orders," I huff. "Return to campus and tell that to my father."

As I reach the door I can still hear his steps behind me and stop abruptly to face him one last time.

"And stop following me!"

I take a deep breath once I've entered Vah Rudania and try to calm down before I walk over to the sushi bar.

"Got your wallet?" Impa asks as I sit down on the stool next to her.

Daruk is heading our way with Gabunomi melon soda and coconut Ramune.

"I ran into Link," I tell her. "He followed us here."

"Link? He did?" She asks loud enough for Daruk to hear his name.

"Did you say Link?" He smiles broadly and places the drinks in front of us. "Did he leave? He said he would be right back."

"What do you mean?" Impa speaks for me, then looks at me. "I thought he just got here?"

"Link's been here for about an hour," Daruk tells us lightheartedly, then adds, "He comes here almost every night."

"Wait what?" My jaw drops.

"Yeah, he likes that not many people recognize him here. Poor boy's just too popular," Daruk laughs loudly.

I thought Link followed me here but if it's true that he comes here so frequently then I suppose the opposite is closer to the truth. To him it may even look like I am the one following him. Should I feel guilty for yelling at him and telling him to go away once again?

"Speaking of Link," Daruk says, pulling my attention back to him. "Every Saturday I teach self defense classes and after what happened at the pier I just wanted to say that you're welcome to join. For free of course."

"The pier? What happened at the pier?" I ask. Even Daruk knows more about that damned day than I do. How close is he to Link? Perhaps he even knows what happened with Malice and Link.

"I thought you were there? I might be wrong though." Daruk rubs his hand over his thick white beard.

"I was, for some of it. But not for the fight, if that's what you're referring to."

"It is, Link looked pretty beat up. You weren't hit, right?"

"No, I'm fine. Do you know why they were fighting?" The stinging in my chest is increasing each second I am left in suspense.

"Um, yeah, Link said that another student attacked him."

"Yes, Ganon. But do you know why he attacked Link?" I ask.

"Jealousy. Link was talking to the guy's girlfriend. Forgot the name..."

"Malice?"

"Oh, yeah, it was Malice," Daruk says, unaware of the pain striking my bones. So Link was talking to Malice, who apparently has a jealous boyfriend. At least she did as of last week. Does Link... like Malice?

"Little brat that one," Daruk half laughs.

"Wait, what?" I look up at his dark, blue eyes.

"Yeah, Link was pretty annoyed when he told me about it last week. Did Malice delete those pictures at least?"

He knows about the pictures? I bring my chin to my chest to hide how red my face has turned. Link hides everything from me but shares it all with Daruk. Great.

"Link talked to Malice at the pier to make her delete the pictures?" I ask to clarify.

"Yep, and then her boyfriend saw them, got jealous, and tackled Link."

"So Link only talked to her to get her to delete the photos, got into a fight with Ganon, then met her again today when he found out that she still didn't delete all the pictures..." I say to myself. "He asked her to give him her phone so he could make sure that all the photos got deleted this time."

"Yeah he was just telling me a bit ago. He told me that she deleted some but not all photos, that's why he talked to her again today. But then Impa walked in and he excused himself before he could finish."

"All that happened today?" Impa says to me, sipping on her Ramune. "Girl, why didn't you say anything?"

"I was mad. I thought he was flirting with Malice and lied to me... He did ask her if she was single and denied that him and I were--" I stop abruptly, remembering that Daruk is listening.

"Yeah no, Link can't stand Malice," Daruk laughs.

I hit my forehead on the counter in front of me and groan. There is still so much I don't understand, like why Malice said he was fighting over her. I guess she only said that because she knew I was listening and wanted to provoke me. But why... Why is she after me? It can't be jealousy... I thought it was, but she has a boyfriend. A match made in heaven. Or hell.

"Why didn't he just say all that when I found them together? He knew how bad it looked when I caught them and didn't even stand up for himself. He could have just said he was deleting the pictures but instead he let me go on about how betrayed I felt when in reality he was doing all this for me."

"He did say he was nervous about telling you about something with your poppa."

"He told me... Father appointed Link to look after me."

"But you still have a lot of questions, don't ya?" Daruk asks and I nod, face still down. "I don't know but it seems the best thing you can do is go talk to him."

"We're not really good at talking."

"So? You're Miss Hyrule, the straight A student, the top of her class. You'll get better, Link ain't resentful, he's just very... What's the word?"

"Reticent," I say. "He doesn't share his thoughts or story easily."

"Exactly. Gotta give him the time and trust to open up."

My head shoots up in shock. I need to find him and apologize. Again.

"Did he say where he was going?" I ask in a hurry but Daruk shakes his head.

"I have to talk to him!"

I jump up from my seat. This can't wait. I am unfamiliar with this feeling in my chest that has replaced my anger with utter fear. I am too anxious to analyse my emotions, but the thought of losing Link scares me more than my darkest nightmares. I have to find him.

"Right now?" Impa gets up too.

"Yes, now," I drag her out of the restaurant and scan the parking lot. He's gone. "Where could he have gone?"

"He probably went back to the frat house," Impa says.

"Isn't there a party tonight?"

"Yes."

"Revali said Link always leaves when they have people over, so he won't be there."

"Doesn't hurt to check. Come on, it's the best we got."

"You're just looking for an excuse to go to a party," I raise an eyebrow.

"I don't need an excuse to go to a party. However, I am indeed looking for an excuse to take you to a party," she grins.

"He won't be there."

"It's his house. Do you have a better idea?"

I think this over for just a second. The only other place I can think of is Mipha's dorm room...

"If he's not at the frat house, we'll leave immediately," I tell her, desperately trying to rid my mind of the image of Mipha and Link together.

"As you wish, Your Highness."